Score-cut slitting mechanism



Feb. 13, 1951 T. N. CARTER SCORE-CUT SLITTING MECHANISM 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 26. 1950 IN V EN TOR.

BYTHOMAS N-CARTEE. M WM L ATTORNEYS.

Feb. 13, 1951 'r. N. CARTER SCORE-CUT SLITTING' MECHANISM Sheis-Sheet 2 Filed A ril 26, 1950 INVENTOR. THOMAS N.CA ETEEE. BY 2 @44 M fi ATTORNEY).

Feb. 13, 1951 T. N. CARTER 2,541,913

SCORE-CUT SLITTING MECHKNIM Filed April 26, B350 Sheets-sheet 3 TACHOMETER Euzcrmcm. Acwm-oz Pa ESSURE RssNALv:

AMPLIFIER M WM 1 ATTORNEYS.

Patented Feb. 13, 1951 SCORE-CUT su'rrmc MECHANISM Thomas N. Carter, Bayside, N. Y., assignor to Cameron Machine Company, Brooklyn, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application April 26, 1950, Serial N 0. 158,143 1 I This invention relates toQScore-cut slittin came- 11m. 164-60).

mechanisms especially adapted for-use in 'connection with slitting and rewinding machines adapted to handle flexible sheet ,material.

It is well known that the pressure required to cut a web of flexible materialfloperated upon" in such machines increases as the speed of the moving web increases. Heretofore the accepted method of applying the pressure to the slitter wheel required suiilcient initial pressure to make a complete cut when material is moving at its maximum speed, with the result that during acceleration and deceleration the wheel has a pressure in excess of that required to sever the material at reduced speed. This excess pressure must be taken by the slitter wheel cutting edge against the platen or backing roll, resulting in premature failure of the cutter edge.

An object of the invention is to prevent this excessive pressure and the resultant damage to the cutting edge and to control the pressure in accordance with the speed of the moving web.

Another object of the invention is to provide a score-cut slitter assembly adapted to'apply the precise pressure desired for operating on materials of different characteristics; and this feature of the invention is useful whether the speed of the web is variable or constant.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will more fully appear from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which show, by way of example, a present preferred form of the invention.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which the same reference characters indicate the same parts in the various views Fig. l is a front elevational view of a slitting and rewinding machine (with certain parts broken away) showing an embodiment of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of a slitter. as-

sembly, showing its mounted position;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the assembly show inFig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view taken on 1:13.

line 5-5 of Fig. 3; 1

Fig. 6 is a front elevational view showing fur-' ther details of a feature of the inventioniwhere: mechanical means are utilized for varying the pressure control of the slitter; and

Fig. 7 is a similar view showing a modification where electrical control means is utilized instead:

of the mechanical means of Fig. 6.

- 2 Referring more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2,

the invention is shown embodied in a slitting and rewindingmachine of the type illustrated and de scribed in my copending application Serial No.

, 137,094, filed January 6, 1950, and only such details will be described herein as are necessary to an understanding of this invention.

A supporting frame comprises side frames, designated in general as I and 2, and tie rods, such as 3 and 4. Rewind drums 6 and 1 are suitably journaled in the frames I and 2 and are driven from a suitable source of power. The front drum 6 acts as a platen or backing roll against which the cutter wheels, to be described following, slit a web of flexible material. A spacer bar 8 is mounted on a shaft 9 pivotally journaled on the frames I and 2 and isadapted to be rocked back and forth in the usual manner by means comprising a lever Ill and link II. The spacer bar 8 extends substantially the entire length of the backing roll 6 in substantial parallelism therewith and is adapted to support at desired spaced intervals thereon a plurality of cutter wheel assemblies each designated in general such as I2, and the particulars of which will now be described.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 3-5: a supporting frame, designated in general as I3, is provided with a clamp lug I 4 and a clamp screw I5 for rigidly clamping the frame to the spacer bar 8. The upper portion of the frame is provided with two side walls I 6-] 1 spaced apart and having substantially parallel inner faces between which is disposed a lever preferably comprising a pair ofplates I 8I9 whose inner ends are secured together in spaced relationship by means of a spacer 20 and a trunnion pin 2i whose opposite ends are removably seated in recesses 22- 23 formed in the walls I6-ll, and whose outer ends are similarly spaced apart ,by a spacer 24 and pin 25. Intermediate their ends the plates Iii-I1 are provided with recesses 26-21 for receiv ing an axle 28 serving to rotatably support on a bearing '29 a cutter wheel 30. A pneumatic aneye32. disposed between the outer ends of the lever plates -I 8.I9 and pivotally secured there- "to by a pin 33. A piston 34 is disposed within said cylinder and is provided with a cup washer 35 held inplace-by a cup screw 35 and a felt washer 31 is preferably disposed over said cup screw and extends above the cup washerto cushion against the cylinder head when the piston reaches the upper end of its movement. A stop screw 38 has itsupper end in threaded engagement in the cylinder head and extends freely through the piston head and downwardly within a bore 39 therein. andeis provlded with a head to limit the downward travel of the piston beyond the operative position. The lower end of the piston is provided with a fulcrum lug 40 preferably having a knife edge seated in a V notch ll formed in a rigid arm 42 provided as a lower extension of the frame ii. A pneumatic hose 43 is secured to the piston 34 and serves to admit air under pressure to the cylinder chamber through the bore 39 and an annular space provided between the screw 38 and the bore in cup screw 36 through which the screw passes.

The hoses I! of the desired plurality of cutter assemblies (Figs. 1 and '2) are connected to a common manifold 45 extending substantially the full length of the spacer bar 8 and suitably secured to the lower portion thereof. The manifold carries a multiplicity of closely spaced outlet port each provided with means, such as connectors 46, for attaching a said hose. In the present embodiment these parts are arranged in two rows with the ports staggered so as to space the ports at intervals, thus permitting a close setting of as many cutter wheels as desired.

In operation, a web of flexible material, such as W (Fig. 2), passes from a suitable supply source (such as a mill roll, not shown) around idle rolls 50-5l, over a nip roll 52 and around the backing roll 6 where it is slit into desired widths by the cutter wheels, such as 30, and wound on the rewind shaft 53 in rewind rolls, such as 54, which are surface driven by the rewind drums 6-1.

By suitably controlling, as by a valve, the pressure delivered to the common manifold 45 the cutting pressure of the cutters may be regulated.

This control may be accomplished in accordance with the web speed by any suitable means which varies in accordance with the rotative speed of one of the rewind drums 6 or I or any other rotatable part of the machine bearing a similar relationship to the web feed. In the present embodiment I have illustrated somewhat diagrammatically a mechanical system and an electrical system in operative connection with the sleeve shaft 6.

Referring to Fig. 6: a conventional ball governor 60 is driven from shaft 6 by suitable means, such as the mitre gears Iii-452. The movable ring 63 of the governor is connected by a link 64 to the outer end of a lever 65 whose inner end is pivoted as at 66 to a fixed support. The lever, is provided with a plurality of notches 61 for selectively receiving an actuating rod 68 of an air valve 69 interposed in the air line supplying plifler 8| whose output lines are connected to a suitable electric actuator 2 adapted to move the valve rod 83 of an air valve 84 supplying air to the manifold 45, etc.

Having thus described my invention with par-'- ticularity with reference to the preferred embodiment of the same and having referred to certain modifications thereof, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art, after understanding my invention, that changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and I aim in the appended claims to cover such changes andmodifications as are within the scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. In score-cut slitting mechanism the combination of a backing roll, a cutter wheel adJacent the periphery of said roll for slitting a moving web of flexible material engaging said roll. a mount supporting said wheel on an axis generally parallel to the axis of said roll and movable toward said roll, fluid actuating means for moving said mount toward said roll to vary the cutting pressure of said cutter wheel against said backing roll, and means responsive to the rotative speed of said roll for controlling said fluid actuated means in accordance with the rotative speed of said roll to thereby increase the cutting pressure in proportion to the increase in web speed.

2. In score-cut slitting mechanism the combination of a backing roll, a spacer bar disposed adjacent said roll longitudinally thereof, a plurality of cutter wheels mounted on said bar at predetermined spaced intervals lengthwise thereof, said wheels being disposed for slitting a moving web of flexible material engaging said roll and each said wheel being individually movable toward and from said roll, individual motive.

the manifold 45 which feeds the cutter assemblies l2. The valve is pivotally mounted at 1| to permit angular movement so that the actuating rod 68 may be disposed in one or the other of the notches 61 to provide varying initial pressure settings when cutting different materials. It will thus be seen that as the speed of shaft 6 increases the governor ring 63 will move upwardly moving the lever 65 in a clockwise direction and opening the valve 69 to admit more air under pressure to the manifold 45 and hence to the air cylinders of the units l2, thus increasing the cutter pressure. A generally similar control is shown in Fig. 7, except that known electrical means have been substituted for the mechanical means. In this embodiment an electrical tachometer 80 of the generator type is operatively connected to the shaft 8 and its output is connected to an ammeans for moving respective wheels, and common control means for said motive means operable in accordance with the speed of travel of said web past said cutter wheel.

3. In score-cut slitting mechanism the combination of a backing roll, a plurality of cutter wheels fixed at spaced apart intervals in a direction longitudinally of said roll and individually movable in a direction transverse said roll, said cutter wheels being disposed for slitting a moving web of flexible material against said roll, individual pneumatic actuators for moving said wheels respectively, valve means common to a plurality of said actuators, and valve actuating control means variable as the speed of travel of said web varies to thereby directly vary the pressure of said cutters against said roll in accordance with said web speed.

4. In score-cut slitting mechanism the combination of a backing roll, a plurality of cutter wheels fixed at spaced apart intervals in a direction longitudinally of said roll and individually movable in a direction transverse said roll, said cutter wheels being disposed for slitting a moving web of flexible material against said roll, individual pneumatic actuators for moving said) wheels respectively, valve means common to a plurality of said actuators, and valveactuating control means variable as the speed of travel of said web varies to thereby directly vary the pressure of said cutters against said roll in accordance with said web speed, said valve actuating means including means for selectively varying the valve actuation to provide the pressure desired for a given one of various materials.

5. In score-cut slitting mechanism the combination of a backing roll, a plurality of cutter wheels fixed at spaced apart intervals in a direction longitudinally of said roll and individually movable in a direction transverse said roll, said cutter wheels being disposed for slitting a moving web of flexible material against said roll, individual pneumatic actuators for moving said wheels respectively, a common manifold extending substantially the full length of said roll and provided with closely spaced outlet connections for individual of said actuators to facilitate the use of a multiplicity of cutters at desired points, a valve for regulating the pressure supplied. to said manifold, control means for said valve actuated by and in accordance with the variation in the rotative speed of said backing roll.

6. A variable pressure cutter wheel assembly for slitting and winding machines, comprising a supporting frame for securing said assembly to a spacer bar, a lever pivotally mounted at one end on said frame, a fluid actuator comprising a cylinder member and a piston member, one of said members being pivotally connected to the other end of said arm and the other of said members being in abutting engagement with a portion of said frame spaced from said pivotal connection, and a cutter wheel freely rotatably journaled on said arm intermediate its said ends.

7. A variable pressure cutter wheel assembly for slitting and winding machines, comprising a supporting frame for securing said assembly to a spacer bar, a lever provided with oppositely disposed trunnions at its inner end said trunnions being seated in cooperating recesses in anupper portion of said frame providing pivotal movement of said arm relative to said frame, a fluid actuator comprising a cylinder member and a piston member, one of said members being pivotally connected to the other end of said arm and the other of said members being provided with a fulcrum lug, said lug being seated in a notch provided in a lower portion of said frame, and a cutter wheel freely rotatably journaled on said arm intermediate its said ends.

8. A variable pressure cutter wheel assembly for slitting and winding machines, comprising a supporting frame having laterally spaced side walls adjacent an upper portion and an arm extending outwardly from a lower portion thereof, a bifurcated lever disposed between said walls and having one end fulcrumed in recesses provided in said walls, a cutter wheel provided with a journal axle di posed in the bifurcations of said lever intermediate its ends and said axle lying between said walls, a pneumatic actuating cylinder comprising a piston end and a cylinder end, one of said ends being pivotally connected to the other end of said lever and the other end of said pneumatic cylinder being provided with a fulcrum edge seated in a notch provided on said outwardly extending frame arm.

9. A variable pressure cutter wheel assembly for slitting and winding machines, comprising a supporting frame having laterally spaced side walls adjacent an upper portion and an arm extending outwardly from a lower portion thereof, a bifurcated lever d sposed between said walls and having one end fulcrumed in recesses provided in said walls, a cutter wheel provided with a journal axle disposed in the bifurcations of said lever intermediate its ends and said axle lying between said walls, a pneumatic actuator comprising a cylinder having a closed upper end provided with a lug pivotally connected to the other end of said lever, a piston disposed in said cylinder and projecting outwardly from the lower end thereof and terminating in a fulcrum edge engaged in a notch in said outwardly extending frame arm, and a stop screw secured in said cylinder head and freely slidably disposed in a bore in the head of said piston, said screw having a head on its lower end disposed within an enlarged bore in said piston and of greater diameter than said piston head bore.

THOMAS N. CARTER.

No references cited. 

